Senate passes bill to tighten motorcoach standards

Washington – The Senate on March 14 approved a bill(.pdf file) intended to tighten safety standards for buses and motorcoaches.

The bill (S. 453) would require the installation of safety belts, compartmentalized seating systems, anti-ejection window glazing and crush-resistant roofs in motorcoaches. It also would require classroom and behind-the-wheel training for motorcoach operators, which currently is not required by federal regulations. Strengthened motorcoach vehicle safety inspections – including roadside inspections, safety audits, and state and motor carrier programs for identifying vehicle defects – would be mandated as well.

The bill also requires improved oversight of the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, which will set standards for driver physical fitness and a medical certificate process to ensure certificates are valid and unqualified operators are rejected.

The bill passed as part of a two-year, $109 billion transportation and infrastructure reauthorization bill (S. 1813).

Post a comment to this article

Safety+Health welcomes comments that promote respectful dialogue. Please stay on topic. Comments that contain personal attacks, profanity or abusive language – or those aggressively promoting products or services – will be removed. We reserve the right to determine which comments violate our comment policy. (Anonymous comments are welcome; merely skip the “name” field in the comment box. An email address is required but will not be included with your comment.)

Name

Email(will not be displayed)*

Title

Comment*

Report Abusive Comment

Thank you for helping us to improve our forums. Is this comment offensive? Please tell us why.